BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	H.B. 3361
86R13912 TSS-F	By: Canales (Hinojosa)
	State Affairs
	5/10/2019
	Engrossed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Current law requires the clerk of each court with an official court reporter to collect a court reporter service fee of $15 as a court cost in each filed civil case. Counties that are located on the Texas-Mexico border that contain a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more (El Paso County) are required to collect a court reporter service fee of $30 as a court cost in each civil case.

This fee is to finance court reporter services and to assist in the payment of court-reporter-related services. These may include maintaining an adequate number of court reporters to provide services to the courts, obtaining court reporter transcription services, closed-caption transcription machines, Braille transcription services, or other transcription services to comply with state or federal laws. 

H.B. 3361 would require the clerk of each court that had an official court reporter and that served a county with a population of 750,000 or more and located on the Texas-Mexico border (El Paso County and Hidalgo County) to collect a court reporter service fee of $30 as a court cost in each filed civil case.

H.B. 3361 amends current law relating to court reporter service fees in certain counties.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 51.601(a-1), Government Code, as follows:

(a-1) Requires the clerk of each court that has an official court reporter and that serves a county with a population of 750,000 or more located on the Texas-Mexico border, rather than the clerk of each court that has an official court reporter and that serves a court located on the Texas‑Mexico border that contains a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more, to collect a court reporter service fee of $30 as a court cost in each civil case filed with the clerk to maintain a court reporter who is available for assignment in the court.

SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2019.